The research in linear control theory has a long tradition in the Institute. During the 1960s researchers of the Institute made considerable developments in both transfer-function and state-space methods. During the 1970s and the 1980s, the members of the Department achieved significant results, which launched an entirely new area of research worldwide. Among these are the parametrization of all controllers stabilizing a given plant (known as the Youla-Kučera parametrization) and the design of control systems via polynomial equations. Starting the 1990s, the research activities of the department ranged from robust control to nonlinear systems.

Applied research in the department focuses on numerical methods for control-system simulation and design, which yields various original software packages for control and simulation. Furthemore, Department investigates the problems in robotic walking, including their software and hardware implementations

The theoretical research currently prevails in the Department and it is focused on the control systems analysis, feedback control design and general dynamical systems theory. The most important areas are as follows:

Analysis and robust control design of linear large scale and spatially distributed systems.

Theoretical and numerical methods for analysis and design of controlled systems, including chaotic systems.

Analysis and design of nonlinear control systems using properties of their invariant manifolds.

Wuhan is the metropolis and most populous city of central China and lies at the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han River. Wuhan University (http://w3.whu.edu.cn/en/) belongs too the most important universities of China with a rich tradition. The award is a prize of appreciation for the long scientific cooperation of ÚTIA and Sergej Čelikovský with china institutions and their experts in nonlinear dynamical systems.